~ Words to Remember

Flame Retardants in Food Products

“American supermarket foods are polluted with toxic chemical flame retardants. (Yes, you read that correctly!) A fire-retardant chemical with the acronym of PBDE, used in carpeting, electronics, and furniture, is being absorbed by the fatty tissues of animals. Processed into food, these animal products have contaminated thirty-one of thirty-two common name-brand groceries found in a Representative sampling of the nation’s supermarket. That finding emerged in the peer-reviewed science journal Environmental Science & Technology, based on a survey and chemical analysis of thirty-two products, including ice cream, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, chicken, and turkey. Only nonfat milk contained no PBDE molecules in detectable levels. Once in the human body, PBDE can persist in our tissues for years, maybe a lifetime. No one has yet studied what level of PBDE are harmful to humans. But animal tests have found the chemical to be carcinogenic and damaging to the nervous system, hormonal functions, and the reproductive organs.”